Griddle Scones

Recipe Number One Hundred & Seventy Four: Page 330.These griddle scones just scraped through into first place on my Tuesday Facebook Poll. At first I had visions of round scones filled with sweet strawberry jam and lashings of clotted cream. My mouth watered at the mere thought! I felt a little disappointed when I read through the recipe. The scones are shaped into wedges and simply served with a hearty spread of butter. I wondered how much the taste and texture would differ from the oven baked scones I so enjoy.I was very glad to be making such a simple and quick recipe. Since arriving at my parents’ house at the weekend, we'd all succumbed to germs (well apart from super healthy Neil). Now it was my turn to 'enjoy' the cold, boo hoo!! I felt sure that a batch of warm scones would help to make me feel better. I no longer cared if they were round or wedged shaped!As I entered my parents’ kitchen, I noticed that my dad had just washed up and the work surfaces were sparkling clean. As hard as I tried to keep things tidy, within seconds I had left my mark. When I opened a brand new packet of flour, a powdery cloud erupted from the bag and floated down to settle on the work surfaces – whoops! I weighed the flour into the bowl and then went back to the cupboard to collect the bicarbonate of soda and cream of tartar. I measured a level teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda into the bowl. I very rarely have a use for cream of tartar. It is the sort of ingredient that patiently sits on kitchen shelves for months and months without seeing any action. However, on this occasion I required two whole teaspoonsful, so at least it was worth dusting off the container!I really was beginning to warm to these griddle scones as the required amount of butter was so small. I decided that they should be classed as a low fat option! It didn't take long to rub the lump of butter into the flour and it soon resembled fine breadcrumbs. Next, I could move onto stirring in the sugar. Again the quantity was tiny. Perhaps I could scoff more than two and not feel guilty! Last of all I measured the milk into a jug then poured it, little by little, into the bowl. Using a blunt ended knife I gave the mixture a thorough mix. Mary mentions that not all the milk may be needed to create a soft but not sticky dough. I found the opposite to be true as I required a touch more to bring everything together.I was instructed to form the dough into two balls and to knead separately on the worktop. I hardly used more than a fine dusting of flour to stop the dough from sticking - it was so easy to work with. As I didn't have a griddle pan I made do with a large frying pan. I wiped it with a very thin layer of oil before turning on the heat. While things were heating up I reached for my mother's rolling pin. It honestly could double up as a lethal weapon – it looks like something you might keep under your bed to ward off any unwanted night visitors!! I rolled a ball of dough into a small circle and then marked it into six wedges. I had to be careful not to mark the worktop with the blunt knife; I didn't think I would be very popular if I ruined the worktop as well as making the mess!I easily managed to fit all six wedges in the warm pan. While they sizzled I carried on with my next task and followed the same procedure with the second ball of dough. The uncooked wedges looked very small but, when I checked the ones cooking in the pan, I could see that they had puffed up and were larger in size. I had to be careful when turning the wedges over to cook the other side as any uncooked dough insisted on sticking to the spatula. With a little remodelling you'd never notice!Once all the wedges were cooked, they could be transferred to a wire rack to cool. Of course I couldn't resist for long and ended up splitting a hot scone in half and smothering it in butter. I watched the butter melt and then took a large bite. I have to admit that my first thought was that they were very plain; I had been expecting perhaps a little more flavor. I have a sweet tooth so I could have done with a touch more sugar. Oh well, a good dollop of jam would soon cure that little problem! The texture was light and fluffy but I could tell that, like any scone, they wouldn't be so tasty the following day. Neil and my parents devoured the plateful within minutes. I hadn't been sure what they would make of them but an empty plate speaks for itself! They certainly found them to be very moreish.These griddle scones took minutes to prepare and cook; they really were very simple to make. This is a recipe that you could rustle up at a moment’s notice. As they don't contain much fat or sugar, you could eat several without batting an eyelid - well, that is until you smother them in butter of course!